What you need to know about this year's Perseid meteor shower

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What You Need to Know About The Perseid Meteor Shower
What You Need to Know About The Perseid Meteor Shower

Get ready to stay up a little late, because the Perseid meteor shower is here and it's better than ever.

The Perseid meteor shower occurs every August. It happens when Earth smashes into debris left behind from the Comet Swift-Tuttle, which passed by Earth in 1992 -- though people were not able to see it without a telescope.

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The Comet was discovered in 1862 by two astronomers, Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle. The next time it will pass Earth is 2126, and scientists predict that it may be close enough to be seen with the naked eye.

While Comet Swift-Tuttle is not a foreseeable threat to Earth, it is believed to be around the same size as the meteor that killed the dinosaurs out 66 million years ago.

The Comet debris causes the shower, which in 2016 will occur from July 17 to August 24 -- and this year in particular is special. Astronomers expect an "outburst" of meteors from the evening of August 11 to the morning of August 12, where meteors will appear at double their usual rates.

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"This year, instead of seeing about 80 Perseids per hour, the rate could top 150 and even approach 200 meteors per hour," said NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke. The last burst of Perseid meteors was in 2009.

To see as many meteors as possible, you will need to watch when the constellation Perseus, where the meteors originate, is overhead. This happens a few hours before dawn -- the prime hours being between midnight and dawn. It's best seen in the Northern Hemisphere in bright moonlight, though those in the Southern Hemisphere may see some meteors, too.

If you don't catch the outburst, you can still see the meteors shoot at their normal rate until August 24.

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